Chapter 12

Wang Fang carefully observed her expression.

Song Si, trying her best to look ashamed, said, “I’m sorry, it’s not really like that. There’s just been some misunderstanding. Lu Yancheng knows about all of this—I already told him.”

Lu Yancheng knows?

Wang Fang was taken aback.

Well, no wonder Lu Yancheng has been so tolerant of Song Si.

So they’d just been meddling in something that wasn’t their business?

She nodded. “Oh, I see. Then, the Shanghai-brand watch and the radio you gave to Gu Chen—did Lu Yancheng know about those too?”

Song Si: “!!!”

What? Not just the bicycle, but also a watch and a radio?

Any one of those things would’ve been considered high-end in this era!

The original Song just gave them all away to Gu Chen?

Thinking back to her and Lu Yancheng’s first night together—thankfully, the original didn’t give herself away too.

But it still hurt! Those three items combined would’ve cost quite a lot, right?

Could she go ask Gu Chen to return them?

And now she regretted deliberately using her inner thoughts to let Lu Yancheng in on things earlier.

Had she known about all this, she would’ve waited to say anything! She should’ve reclaimed the bicycle, watch, and radio first!

Seeing her face change, Wang Fang softly called her, “Xiao Song?”

Song Si took a deep breath, still feeling the pain in her heart. “Now that I think about it, those valuable things have special meaning to both me and Lu Yancheng. Giving them to Gu Chen really wasn’t appropriate.”

Wang Fang was much relieved at hearing this. “Exactly. If it were something else, that’d be understandable. After all, Lu Yancheng gives you twenty yuan in allowance every month. Helping Comrade Gu with small things would be fine. But the bicycle, watch, and radio were all part of Lu Yancheng’s betrothal gifts.”

Song Si’s breath hitched.

What?

There’s money too?

Lu Yancheng is actually quite decent!

Despite the original being the way she was, he still gave her twenty yuan a month!

And she went and spoiled a pretty boy with it?

No way. She couldn’t let this go. She had to get the money and those items back from Gu Chen!

As for what she’d already told Lu Yancheng… she’d figure out how to spin it later!

Wang Fang cleared her throat lightly. “I hope it’s okay that I brought this up. I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just that while Lu Yancheng may not misunderstand you, the folks in Baiyang Village don’t know any of this.”

Song Si steadied herself. “Thank you, Sister-in-law. What you said today really made me reflect—I feel ashamed. I acted completely inappropriately.”

Wang Fang, seeing she could listen to reason, gave her one final “dose of medicine.” “That’s the right attitude, Xiao Song. Maybe you should consider following the army as a military spouse? If not, it’s okay, but at the very least, you should cut off contact with Gu Chen. Even if not for Lu Yancheng’s sake, you should consider your own reputation, don’t you think?”

“You’re absolutely right.”

“It’s getting late. They’ll probably be back soon. I’ll head home first—I still have laundry to do.”

Song Si stood up to walk her out. “Take care, Sister-in-law.”

Once Wang Fang left, Song Si decided she’d head to the re-education camp tomorrow and get those items back from Gu Chen.

All three items together would be worth a few hundred yuan!

The original really was something else—how could she just hand things over like that?

In her previous life, she always lived by one rule: you could scam her for love, but never for money!

She glanced outside. The sky had already darkened, and Lu Yancheng still hadn’t returned. He was probably still playing basketball?

Seriously, they were both first-timers, yet he still had the energy to play basketball, while she could barely walk from the soreness. And he was the one doing all the work!

How was he acting like nothing happened?

She got ready to take a bath. Since the new clothes she bought hadn’t been washed yet, she paused and went to his closet. She found one of his army-green shirts, gave it a sniff—it still smelled like laundry detergent, so it was clearly clean—and took it with her into the bathroom.

…

When Lu Yancheng returned, he saw Song Si’s clothes from earlier strewn all over the bed.

Hearing the sound of running water, he looked toward the bathroom.

She was taking a shower?

Back on the basketball court, he and Deputy Commander Zhang had talked for a long time. Zhang had mentioned that Song Si wasn’t actually Uncle Song’s biological daughter—and the girl he was originally betrothed to must’ve been Uncle Song’s real daughter.

That conversation replayed clearly in his mind now.

“If Uncle Song’s real daughter returns, what should I do?”

“This is the New China now. We follow the Chairman’s guidance—democracy and free love. So what if you were engaged as kids? That doesn’t mean anything anymore. What matters is you—who do you like more, Xiao Song or the girl you’ve never even met? Think carefully, Lu.”

He was certain that Song Si was different from anyone else he’d ever met.

And they were already husband and wife in every sense now.

After a few minutes passed and Song Si hadn’t come out, he picked up her discarded clothes and placed them into the washbasin. He fetched some water from outside and started washing them in the dormitory.

When Song Si came out, she saw him washing her underwear and blushed. “Lu Yancheng, you…”

Lu Yancheng looked up—and saw her long, pale legs!

She wasn’t wearing pants—just his army-green shirt. From this angle…

The hand holding her underwear clenched instinctively, and his voice came out hoarse. “Does it still hurt?”

He had to admit—once you’d tasted that kind of intimacy, it was hard not to react. The self-control he was so proud of had completely unraveled. It was almost laughable.

Song Si picked up on what he meant. “It hurts!”

Lu Yancheng took a deep breath. “I’ll sleep somewhere else tonight.”

Song Si: “Good.”

[If he tries again tonight, that would be pure torture! Absolutely not happening.]

Lu Yancheng couldn’t afford to care what her inner voice was saying. He quickly finished washing her underwear, hung it up on a stool, grabbed his toiletries, and left the room.

A few steps out, he suddenly turned back, remembered the medicine he bought, and placed it on the bedside table. “Should I help you apply it, or will you do it yourself? If you use it tonight, it’ll feel better tomorrow.”

Song Si: “I’ll do it myself!”

Lu Yancheng: “Okay.”

His voice low and hoarse, he left without another word.

Song Si: “…”

Was she a plague or something?

As for him being able to hear her thoughts and her not being the real daughter of the Song family—what was he thinking about that?

“Da Huang.”

The system didn’t respond.

It was afraid she was going to try tricking it again.

Song Si, seeing it was ignoring her, dropped a bomb: “Da Huang, I slept with Lu Yancheng.”

The system’s reaction was explosive. “What did you say?!”

Bzzt… bzzzzzzz…

Song Si said happily, “We’re husband and wife. Sleeping together is totally normal, right?”

The system nearly exploded. “Don’t you know what’s going to happen to him in the future—”

Then it abruptly cut itself off, remembering the last warning it got. “Didn’t I already tell you what would happen? Aren’t you afraid of how badly this could end for you?”

Song Si deliberately provoked it. “I think you’re wrong. Didn’t you call him a ‘lipstick guy’? Well, I tested it—he’s big and skilled. I’m quite satisfied. Maybe the storyline has changed? So maybe he won’t do all those awful, unmanly things in the future after all?”